What Does Craft Beer Mean to You?

It’s a question I’ve thought a lot about lately and one I wanted to ask my broader audience. For me personally, four things come to mind:

People

Style

Art

Opportunity

People in the industry and craft beer fans as a whole are one-of-a-kind. I attended Foothills Brewing’s Bourbon Barrel Sexual Chocolate release last month and it was a blast. I was genuinely excited to drive 90 minutes and get in line at 5:00 in the morning, but there were still +300 people waiting in front of me! Regardless, it was an experience of a lifetime. I met a couple from Maryland, a few locals and craft beer traders from all over. We all share the same passion. I can’t wait to do it again.

With more than 3,000 breweries across America, there is no shortage of beer styles and flavors to try. Variety is good. Although I enjoy my hops, there are times I’d rather grab a porter, bock, witbier, stout, or sour. Innovation is key too as brewers push the limits on standard beer styles. More flavors, more choices, more craft beer fans.

Craft beer is an art. Brewers continue to raise the bar and take creativity to the extreme. The one-off ingredients I see in beer today amaze me – scorpions, mustard seeds, and oysters to name a few. Brewers put a lot of time and passion into creating a product that can be enjoyed by the community and many experiment, providing opportunities to try new things.

The craft beer industry is growing at an astounding rate, so opportunity is abound for brewers, beer bars, bottle shops and all of us lucky fans. More breweries, more jobs and an overall boost to local and regional economies. The growth of the industry and my interest in amazing beer even inspired me to start this blog!

So that’s what comes to mind when I think about craft beer. What does it mean to you?